Daily Report: Do Doctors, Legislators or Lawyers Determine Standards of Reproductive Health Care?

Daily Report article about Reproductive Healthcare Access

State Rep. Saira Draper, D-Atlanta, a panelist who campaigned on preserving access to abortion services, said that, while the more extreme measures taken by bills proposed in other states, such as a proposed piece of South Carolina legislation that would introduce the death penalty for seeking an abortion, might not be likely in Georgia, that doesn’t mean other restrictive forms of legislation aren’t on the horizon.

Since Georgia’s six-week abortion ban went into effect, some Georgia district attorneys have publicly said they will not prosecute abortions in their jurisdictions. Georgia’s House and Senate have both introduced bills this session that would penalize rogue DAs. While the Senate version of the bill that passed committee last night has been a work in progress since the last legislative session, according to Draper, the move to penalize these DAs is “not unrelated.” A bill to prevent children from accessing gender-affirming care also passed, on partisan lines, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee earlier this week.

So, what’s next for proponents of abortion access? With the oral arguments for SisterSong v. Georgia, a similar lawsuit to SisterSong v. Kemp, scheduled at the state Court of Appeals next month, the future is still murky. But if the six-week ban is here to stay, Draper hopes the language of the statute is flushed out to make the do’s and don’ts of abortion clearer for providers.

“I’m hopeful for negotiation and discussion on that front,” Draper said. “But as far as major overhauls, I’m doubtful.”